"Mobile gold rush" puts Georgia among US app leaders

ATLANTA -- There's a fast-growing industry nationwide that's booming right here in Georgia. You can find the evidence right on your phone.

According to a new study, mobile applications -- "apps", for short -- now account for more than 500,000 jobs nationwide.

"It seems like we have a mobile gold rush right now," says Matt Rogers, the owner and president of SolutionBuilt. "We've found a lot of people that are 4th-and-goal with their project and just can't get it wrapped up."

SolutionBuilt is one of the more successful start-ups in the app economy, doing projects for BP among others; they are based out of Marietta.

The Wireless Association published a study last week that put Georgia as the 7th-largest app economy in America, accounting for more than a billion dollars per year of economic impact. The state is also 5th-highest in app intensity, or the percentage of jobs related to apps. According to the study, Georgia employs 24,000 workers in app-related jobs.

This news is especially impressive because the app industry is so young. The iTunes and Android Market application stores first opened four years ago; the study projects mobile app revenue to exceed $46 billion nationally in 2016.